Bad manners

Aside from the basic good manners taught me by my ultra-polite parents, I also learned a good deal of etiquette and manners while I lived in France. Maybe I shouldn't be so hard on other people who haven't had the benefit of living in France as I did, but surely some manners have nothing to do with geography and everything to do with common courtesy?

Take my (least) favourite person, Mozzie, for instance.

• When you go into someone's office, it's polite to say hello to those who are already there - especially if you share that office with them. It's not polite to waltz in, as Mozzie does, generally late, and only say hello if your line manager is there.
  
• If you're making yourself a cup of coffee, it's polite to offer to make one for other people in the room. It's not polite to wait until one person (me!) is out of the office for a nano-second to grab the tray and rush to the kitchen and then say, 'Oh, you weren't here, I didn't know what you wanted.'
  
• It's not polite to question people about everything you overhear them say.
  
• It is polite to ask your office-mates if it's OK to open or close a window.

Am I being unreasonable to expect a certain level of common courtesy from someone who is 21? I might expect this kind of behaviour from oiks in their last year at school, but not from someone who is sharing an office with me.

I think I probably am being unreasonable, but it's hard to keep a grip and stay calm when every single day is a struggle against incompetence, thoughtlessness and downright rudeness.

I may not be a celebrity but GET ME OUT OF HERE!